The present invention relates to a pushbutton mechanism provided in an image forming apparatus such as a copier, a printer, a facsimile, and the likes, and relates to an image forming apparatus having the pushbutton mechanism.
In a conventional image forming apparatus, after a print medium is discharged, the print medium is accumulated on a top cover, thereby reducing a size of the conventional image forming apparatus. In this case, the top cover is disposed to be rotatable. When a trouble such as a print medium jam occurs during a printing operation, or a consumable component is replaced, the top cover is opened by an angle greater than 90 degrees, thereby making it easy to access inside the conventional image forming apparatus.
In the conventional image forming apparatus, an operator pushes a pushbutton situated on a front portion of the conventional image forming apparatus for opening the top cover, so that the operator removes the print medium jam or replace the consumable component (refer to Patent Reference).    Patent Reference: Japanese Patent Publication No. 2005-1797
In a conventional pushbutton mechanism of the conventional image forming apparatus, when the operator pushes the pushbutton, a nail of the operator may be caught with an edge of a pushbutton hole formed in a case member or a housing.
In view of the problems described above, an object of the present invention is to provide a pushbutton mechanism and an image forming apparatus capable of solving the problems of the conventional pushbutton mechanism. In the pushbutton mechanism of the present invention, it is possible to prevent a nail of an operator from being caught with an edge of a pushbutton hole formed in a case member or a housing of the image forming apparatus.
Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the invention.